Rdxfbgrtj

Catholic University of Eastern Africa

Main building
Motto	"Consecrate them in the truth"
Type	Private
Established	1984
Chancellor	Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel
Location	Nairobi , Kenya Coordinates: 01°21′05″S 36°45′25″E / 1.35139°S 36.75694°E / -1.35139; 36.75694
Website	www.cuea.edu

Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) is a multi-campus university in Kenya.

Location

The main campus of the university is located in Langata, a southwestern neighborhood of the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya and the largest city in that country.

The University campus is also the host of IBM Research Africa offices.

History

CUEA was founded on 3 September 1984 in Nairobi Kenya as a Graduate School of Theology, under the name the Catholic Higher Institute of Eastern Africa (CHIEA). The Institute was founded by the regional ecclesiastical authority known as Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA). The member countries of AMECEA are: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.Initially, CHIEA offered two-year Licentiate/MA programmes in Theology, as authorized by the Congregation for Catholic Education, Vatican City (cf. Prot. N. 821/80/34), effective 2 May 1984. On 3 September of the same year, it was officially inaugurated by the Right Reverend Bishop Medardo Mazombwe, the then Chairman of AMECEA. On 18 August 1985, it was formally opened by Pope John Paul II. In 1986, the Graduate School of Theology started negotiations with the Commission for Higher Education in Kenya to establish the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA).

In 1989, the Institute obtained the "Letter of Interim Authority" as the first step towards its establishment as a private university. After three years of intensive negotiations between the Authority of the Graduate School of Theology (CHIEA) and the Commission for Higher Education, the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was established. The climax of the negotiations was a granting of the Civil Charter to CHIEA on 3 November 1992. This marked the birth of the university as a private institution. The Institute rebranded as the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, in 1992.

In 2002, the Faculties of Science and Commerce were established. Then in 2003, the Center for Social Justice & ethics was established. The Faculty of Law was established in 2004, and the School of continuing professional development in 2009. In 2009, satellite campuses were established in Eldoret and Kisumu.^[1] In April 2013, the university opened a new campus in the I&M Tower, along Kenyatta Avenue, in the Nairobi's central business district. The campus can accommodate up to 500 students.^[2]

Shortly thereafter, CUEA encountered financial difficulties that stemmed from poor management and a loss of Sh. 400 million to former university officials, according to CUEA’s former Vice Chancellor Prof. Mbae.^[3]

Investigations by the Daily Nation revealed that CUEA’s Vice Chancellor preceding Prof. Mbae, Dr. Rutechura, together with CUEA’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor in Charge of Finance and the Chief Financial Officer were facing audit questions over the loss.^[4] The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in East Africa (AMECEA), a caucus of bishops from eight countries in the region that does developmental projects on behalf of the Vatican, appoints all senior personnel at CUEA yet it never announced its findings into the alleged financial theft by the three officials.

This theft resulted in CUEA not meeting its salary obligations in the ensuing years, particularly to part-time lecturers who make up the bulk of its teaching staff. Salary arrears led to thousands of exam booklets being withheld by instructors and created a practice of missing marks being manipulated by the school’s administrators. These woes even imperilled CUEA’s 35th graduation ceremony, according to local media reports.^[5]

CUEA never recovered from the Sh. 400 million ‘loss to university officials’ and it was forced to close its Nairobi city and Kisumu campuses.^[6] The university has also been trying to liquidate land it owns in Karen in a bid to raise funds. To make matters worse, the Commission for University Education (CUE) threatened CUEA in January 2018 with closure if the university did not improve its financial standing within one year.^[7]

On 1st October 2018, Rev. Prof Stephen Mbugua assumed office as CUEA’s new VC but his tenure was immediately overshadowed by the alleged assault by CUEA’s Acting Dean of Students against a colleague.^[8]. VC Mbugua initiated an internal investigation into the assault that was followed by a separate investigation by AMECEA.^[9] The findings from both investigations have been kept secret.

The problems at the university continued when the Kenya Private Universities Workers Union announced a strike in January 2019 over inconsistencies and delay in salary payments and a reduction of the Provident Fund from 17 per cent to six per cent.^[10]

As of February 2019, the CUE still hadn’t announced whether or not it would nullify CUEA’s charter.

Faculties of the University

The university maintains the following faculties:^[11]

• Faculty of Theology


• Faculty of Commerce


• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences


• Faculty of Education


• Faculty of Science


• Faculty of Law


• Center for Social Justice and Ethics


• School of Continuing Professional Development

Constituent colleges

• Marist International University College


• Tangaza University College


• Hekima University College


• Regina Pacis University College


• Uzima University College

Affiliated colleges

• Don Bosco College – Moshi, Tanzania
  


• Christ the King Major Seminary


• The Spiritan Seminary


• AMECEA Pastoral Institute


• Chemichemi ya Uzima Center

Associate institution

• Ukweli Video Production

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:

• 
  Stella Kilonzo, executive director of the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya; July 2008 – June 2012.^[12]
  


• 
  Eve D'Souza, media personality


• 
  George Khaniri, senator, Vihiga County
  


• 
  Vanessa Mdee, singer

See also

• Education in Kenya


• List of universities in Kenya

References

External links

• Website of CUEA


• Catholic University of Eastern Africa